This is the most infamous of all Mondo Movies and with out a doubt the most vicious
exploitation title ever filmed. This pseudo documentary features the aptly titled Dr.
Frances B. Gross, as he studies death and how fragile live can be. The film opens with
scenes of a catacomb in Mexico where we see mummified corpses, all of this is genuine and
pretty much benign. We then proceed to a slaughterhouse where we witness animals prepared
for our dinner table(Yum!). We then witness one of the most infamous scenes in the film, a
group of restaurant patrons are seated, entertained with music and alcohol and then are
given a monkey to bash with a mallet. Afterward they eat the brains and the look on the
patrons face's shows they are not quite happy with their meal (Maybe it should have been
chilled). The films also features animal attacks on people and in many cases these are
quite laughable, one worth noting has a stupid couple feeding a bear, an adjacent vehicle
records the grim results of the subsequent attack by the bear on the stupid man. For the
rest of the film what we end up with is a mix of stock footage from accidents and
disasters which were real and a small number of staged incidents which give the film its
infamous reputation. The film is supposedly banned in over 40 countries.

Faces of Death 2 - (1981)

It is almost inevitable that such an infamously successful title like Faces of Death
would spawn a sequel and in a rare case this one is actually much better then the first.
The movie begins with our favorite pseudo Dr. explaining how he felt he needed to further
explore the issues of death, contradicting his statements from the first film but enough
of that for now. The second FOD movie differs greatly from the first in that this film
does feature actual footage and only a few staged scenes. The film goes on to show animal
testing, poachers killing animals, scenes from human autopsies, more slaughterhouse
footage and some scenes of executions in Africa. We then view war atrocities, most from
the fighting in Vietnam and Lebanon. The film ends with the infamous death of boxer Johnny
Owen as the annoying music closes out this film. It is undeniable that FOD 2 is better
made then the first, and with its genuine footage it is more truthful then any other FOD
film.

Faces of Death 3 - (1985)

Opening with European car crashes the third film of the FOD series pretty much follows
the same pattern of the earlier films. A number of the first segments feature police
reports, the style of work seems way to close to those COP's style shows and when one
thinks about the crud they show on TV it is little wonder how too close these films are to
the portrayals they are making. One well known and significant moment features a bomb
squad preparing to defuse a bomb, a makeshift blast shield is erected to allow the camera
to witness this tricky procedure. As the police man slowly pulls the fuse it explodes
killing him instantly. This same film was shown in many other similar titles so don't be
surprised if I mention it later. We also witness a suicide in grim detail, complete with
gawking witnesses. As with many of the FOD titles this one boasts an infamous scene which
gives this film its highlight, in this case we witness an auto lot security camera
capturing a pair of car thieves in the act. As the camera pans left to right we see the
dogs taking down one of the bad guys and ripping him to pieces. As stated this FOD
adventure plays more like a COP's Really Uncut video and with its fabricated scenes mixed
with accident footage we get a collection of films more entertaining then any episode of
COP's, cut or uncut.

Faces of Death 4 - (1990)

This was the first FOD film I ever rented and it is also one of the most blatantly vile
and expletive. The film opens with a crematorium and a body being burned, the narrator
begins by saying that the original host Dr. Gross had passed on and was being given his
funeral rite. The narrator this time is Dr. Louis Flellis, a neuro surgeon who is more
creepy then some of the stiffs he showcases. We begin with an obviously faked hostage
situation, this is followed with the usual genuine accident footage, auto crashes, plane
wrecks and random terrorist explosions. The usual recreations abound and with the very
intense drama one would shriek if it were not for the very hokey acting. The highlights: a
man gets his leg caught under a car wreck at an auto junk yard, a nasty accident involving
a magician and a botched escape trick is worth noting as well. The psycho Dr. then goes
into a morality play by stressing the perils of alcohol and the mishaps it leads to with
underage drinkers. The bungee jumping death of a coed is quite amusing. We also witness a
boating mishap involving a pretty girl who is cut to pieces by a drunken boat operator. As
with all the above movies we get so called smuggled video of dubious third world
punishment, an eastern European man is drawn and quartered before his horrified wife, of
course because he failed to pay his taxes fully! The usual animal slaughter scenes abound,
this time we even have a nice Indonesian family preparing a meal with a puppy as the main
course. The film ends with a pair of nasty tales, the first involving a mega leech which
attached to a poor swimmer and the last one featuring an FBI raid on a suspected drug
house which yields a satanic cult complete with snuff film and a blood filled flask. Of
all the films this is the most blatantly expletive and it shows without any sense of
restraint or moral overtone. The narrator even brings out a guitar and sings a hokey
tribute song, you have to hear the goofy lyrics to believe it! Even for an FOD film this
is one very vile collection.

Faces of Death 5 & 6

FOD 5 consists mostly of stock footage from the earlier films and comes across as a
poor copy of its more infamous predecessors. If it were simply a Best of FOD that would be
all right, yet there was a Best of Collection, actually it was titled Worst of FOD and it
was basically the same film minus a few scenes from FOD 4 and with a better look and feel.
The only worthwhile scene is that of the actual on air suicide of Pennsylvania State
Treasurer R Budd Dwyer, played in full color detail. This incident was well covered in the
media and is not faked in any way.